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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27676313">Break</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkicedragon/pseuds/Darkicedragon'>Darkicedragon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Noblesse (Manhwa)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:23:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,803</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27676313</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkicedragon/pseuds/Darkicedragon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>M-21 hated waiting. Especially for something he knew was coming. Why waste time, unless it was to watch him squirm?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Break</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thanks to madame aZure for all the support while I was writing this! :D</p>
<p>There was a period where I was basically only posting fic to tumblr and not crossposting to here or ffnet. I remembered this fic and was then surprised when I didn't find it here, whoops. So here it is.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>M-21 hated waiting. Especially for something he <em>knew</em> was coming. Why waste time, unless it was to watch him squirm? <br/><br/>It had been a few days since Frankenstein and his master had taken him into their house and they hadn't started yet. Maybe they wanted him to settle in first, but he knew where everything was and wouldn't get lost. <br/><br/>If they weren't going to initiate it, <em>he</em> would. <br/><br/>Better to get it over with as soon as possible.<br/><br/>M-21 went down to Frankenstein's lab, his teeth clenched, taking steadying breaths. It was going to be shit, but the earlier they started, the faster it ended. Just so long as he adapted and accepted everything quickly. <br/><br/>Frankenstein was there, puttering about one of his machines. He turned around as soon as M-21 got close enough. "Ah, hello," Frankenstein said, tucking his pen into a pocket, like he actually wanted to give M-21 his full attention. "What do you need?" <br/><br/>Hah. "Break me." M-21's words were clipped as he watched Frankenstein's face. <br/><br/>Frankenstein blinked. "I - what?" <br/><br/>M-21 clenched his jaw harder. Why was Frankenstein pretending to <em>not know</em>? "<em>Break</em>. Me," M-21 repeated through gritted teeth. <br/><br/>"M-21," Frankenstein said, his voice soft as he set his clipboard down, "I'm not sure what brought this on-"<br/><br/>Shit. He was hesitating? Or was the scientist testing him? If M-21 tried to hide from being broken, that would mean the process would last longer, to make sure he wouldn't balk at what he was required to do. <br/><br/>No. <br/><br/>M-21 had a high pain tolerance (all modified humans had to — that was how they survived in the first place), but he wasn't a masochistic bastard — if he could lessen the pain, he would. <br/><br/>M-21 snarled, transforming his nails and slashed at the scientist. <br/><br/>He didn't get that far. <br/><br/>Slow. He was so <em>fucking slow</em>. <br/><br/>M-21 had barely started his sweep when the scientist grabbed his wrists and slammed him to the ground, M-21's arms behind his back, the weight of the scientist's aura him keeping him imombilised. <br/><br/>M-21's heart hammered so hard he was dizzy in anticipation, letting go of his transformation. There. He'd done it. He'd attacked the scientist. That would piss him off enough to start the process. He just had to endure it now. <br/><br/>His arms prickled, phantom pain tracing where the scientist had attacked him before and fuck, this was going to fucking <em>hurt</em>. The Union scientists had only used scalpels and other tools — they didn't have whatever <em>thing</em> this scientist had that lingered days after his enhanced healing was supposed to be done. <br/><br/>"M-21," the scientist said, his voice still controlled and soft, and M-21 couldn't stop the shudder run through his body as he swallowed, "what's wrong?"<br/><br/>He let out a shaky breath, pressing his forehead to the cold floor. Concentrate on that. Focus on that. Ride the pain out. It wouldn't last forever, even if it felt like it would at the time. "You haven't broken me yet." He'd mumbled the words, he was aware of that, but he was putting everything he could into bracing himself for what was to come. <br/><br/>"Of course not," the scientist said. So he was admitting to waiting to torture him. To make him <em>ask</em> for it. Sadistic bastard. "Why would you..." The scientist trailed off and silence rang in M-21's ears aside from his own ragged breathing, feeling the hum of the machines through the floor. <br/><br/>"This is..." The scientist stopped, taking in a breath. "This is what they do in the Union." <br/><br/>"Yes. So just fucking <em>start already</em>." He was <em>done</em> waiting. <br/><br/>"M-21." There was a hard edge to the scientist's voice and M-21 flinched. Shit. Had he pushed too hard? "M-21," the scientist repeated, his voice softer, "we're not the Union. We don't-" An almost strangled sigh. "We don't 'break' people here."<br/><br/>What? <br/><br/>M-21 waited for the punchline to drop, for the scientist to laugh at his own joke. To reveal the lie.<br/><br/>It didn't happen. <br/><br/>What...? <br/><br/>"Do you understand, M-21?" The scientist's voice was still soft, not threatening, his hands still holding M-21's wrists, enough to only keep him in place and not anywhere close to hurting.<br/><br/>No? What was he saying? It didn't make <em>sense</em>.<br/><br/>If he lied and it was found out, he would be punished; if he told the truth, he would be punished for being too slow. <br/><br/>A sigh, the scientist's aura easing. <br/><br/>Shit. He'd taken too long to answer. <br/><br/>"Please come with me," the scientist said, standing up. <br/><br/>There. Finally, he was going to be-<br/><br/>"I'm not going to...break you," the scientist continued. "We're going to talk this over while we're both seated for tea, not with me pinning you to the floor." <br/><br/>What difference did <em>that</em> make?<br/><br/>M-21 pushed himself to his feet, watching the scientist for the trick, but the scientist was a few steps away already, putting away his clipboard. Still close enough the scientist could hit him by surprise, but with his back turned, that would take long enough for M-21 to brace himself. <br/><br/>Nothing happened and the scientist turned back to him, smiling. "Ready to go?" <br/><br/>He was...asking?<br/><br/>"Yeah..." <br/><br/>The scientist led the way out of the lab and M-21 followed. With each passing minute, he relaxed a little further. He shouldn't; he should keep his guard up at all times or else the pain would be that much worse when it happened, but... There was no reason for the scientist to keep the facade up for this long. Scientists were impatient and wanted instant results and obedience.<br/><br/>The living room was empty when they arrived, and M-21 paused there, unsure. Were they really going to just talk? The scientist had said all that shit, but M-21 had been functioning in a state of preparation, waiting for everything to go back to what he expected. <br/><br/>But they were here. And still nothing had happened. <br/><br/>"Would you prefer tea or coffee?" the scientist said, heading for the kitchen area. <br/><br/>M-21 stared at him, not understanding. <br/><br/>The scientist looked back at him, a small crease between his brows. "M-21? Or would you prefer something else to drink?" <br/><br/>A choice? He was being given a <em>choice</em>? How...was he supposed to decide?<br/><br/>"Tea," M-21 said, before he could hesitate for longer. He'd done that enough already and the scientist had mentioned it before. A memory test?<br/><br/>The kettle rumbled as the water boiled. "What do you take with it?"<br/><br/>"Just black." Still prolonging the conversation. Still dragging this out. <br/><br/>The scientist continued moving around, taking two cups. "You can sit down, you know. You don't need my permission to." The tone was light, like sharing a joke and something inside M-21 lurched. There were rules here he didn't know; he needed to learn them quickly before he was punished for breaking them, but the scientist wasn't following through.<br/><br/>M-21 sat down, watching the scientist's hands as much as he could. Nothing else seemed to be added to his cup, but when the scientist handed it to him, M-21 took in a deep breath. It smelled like a regular cup of tea... <br/><br/>"Now then," the scientist said, settling on the seat next to M-21's, "let's continue the conversation, shall we?"<br/><br/>"Right." M-21 tightened his hand around the cup. <br/><br/>"Could you please tell me what you were expecting to happen?" <br/><br/>M-21 stared at him incredulously, but the scientist <em>looked</em> like that was a reasonable question. Like he didn't know. <br/><br/>"For you to break me down and reprogramme me." <br/><br/>The scientist's eyes flickered shut, a muscle jumping in his jaw. Angry. Had he answered wrong? It was the truth — had he answered in the wrong way? It had to be a rule he wasn't aware of. Shit.<br/><br/>Was he supposed to add 'sir'? The scientist hadn't seemed annoyed at the lack before. <br/><br/>"And this happens everytime you...change places?" Quiet. Controlled voice. <br/><br/>This was it. If he stepped wrong, who knew what would happen to him. <br/><br/>"Yeah." M-21 gave a short nod. "They wouldn't want the modified human spying on them and then running away to report back to their previous scientist." He added that since the scientist was wanting more information.<br/><br/>"I see." The scientist was silent for a few seconds before taking a sip from his tea. M-21 pretended to do the same, making sure the liquid didn't touch his lips — he was resonably sure it was only tea, but he wouldn't risk it.<br/><br/>The scientist exhaled. "We aren't the Union — we won't break you to reform you." <br/><br/>M-21 eyed him. Words. Words were another tool to get a person on your side and could taken back even easier than violence. <br/><br/>"We won't force you to stay here against your will either," the scientist continued. "If you wish to leave, that is your decision and we won't stop you." <br/><br/>M-21 snorted, looking away. "And if I left to tell the Union where you are?" Having information on powerful beings could grant him some leverage and reduce some of the punishment and pain he'd get. It was doubtful after what he'd done that they wouldn't just kill him straight away, but the chance was still there. <br/><br/>"Then that is your decision." <br/><br/>M-21 looked back at him, his eyes narrowed. "You'd just let me go," he said, his lips twisting. Liar. There was no way the scientist or his master would risk that.<br/><br/>"Yes." A simple answer with no hesitation, the scientist's gaze steady on him. <br/><br/>M-21 snorted. He didn't know the scientist enough to know what his tells were yet. <br/><br/>The scientist sipped his drink again. "I know this will be unbelievable for some time, but what you experienced in the Union isn't how we treat people."<br/><br/>M-21 managed to hide his scoff, biting back the words on his tongue. Maybe they thought that now, but they would fall back into old habits soon enough. That was what always happened to those who had power over other people.<br/><br/>"I'll leave you to finish your tea," the scientist said, giving him a gentle smile. "But if you want to talk, please do."<br/><br/>"Yeah." Wasn't going to happen. M-21 watched as the scientist washed his cup and left, and he stared down at the tea in front of him. "Tch." <br/><br/>He was in a different place, but all organisations operated like the Union — they just moved at different paces. <br/><br/>It was going to happen, one way or another. He just didn't know when. Which was why he'd tried to start it in the first place. <br/><br/>With a final sigh, M-21 poured the tea down the sink. When it happened, he wanted to be aware during it, not drugged, so he could get through it faster. <br/><br/>He would just have to wait until they decided to break him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>For lux-literarum's prompt, ' “Break me.”<br/>“What?”<br/>Raggedly, this time. “Break me.”</p>
<p>Had hoped there would be a turning point where M-21 would see Frankenstein as Frankenstein again, rather than a scientist, but he didn't feel safe enough to.</p>
<p>Was also hoping for a bigger shift, but M-21's stubborn and had a strong belief in what he expected. So yeah, would take more time than just one talk to get him to start believing everything won't be the same.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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